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Tyler Hunnex - I started/founded/began Let's Go Birds in September of 2007 after feeling like my favorite Junior Hockey team needed more discussion and analysis. I'm statistically minded, forever frustrated by the Tbirds and my all-time favorite player was #10. I think I'm funny and my writing would probably disagree. Follow me on Twitter @TylerHunnex.

Jon Whiting - Jon joined the Let's Go Birds team in the summer of 2013. His passion for the Thunderbirds is as big as any fan I've ever met. His two kids are named after former Tbirds and his favorite all-time players were Patrick Marleau and Olaf "Ole" Kjenstad, who he swears is the best pure scoring Tbird ever.

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12.29.2012

Tips drop Tbirds

Seattle drops a big one to Everett last nigh 2-1. These losses are going to hurt down the stretch and I'm starting to lose a little bit of faith in this team's ability to get this done the rest of the way. Things are going to have turn around in a hurry if the Tbirds want to avoid another 2nd half tail spin.

Seattle came out firing on all cylinders to start the game last night and got an early lead courtesy of a nice feed by Connor Honey to Alexander Delnov who made a quick move to the backhand and beat Austin Lotz for the 1-0 lead. Taylor Green picked up the 2nd assist playing on that line and I thought he was decent again as a forward. Nothing spectacular, but I think he can give the team some useful minutes there. I noticed they also tried him on the PP for a short time as well.

Things seemed to fall apart after Seattle got the lead and Everett closed the period by closing the gap in shots. Momentum shifted for good after Everett tied the game and Seattle failed to capitalize on a 5 on 3 opportunity.

Quick side note: I want to once again point out to the faithful Tbird fans that yelling "shooooooooot" and thinking that simply "shooting" the puck on a PP actually works as an effective power play. It doesn't. I know this sounds quite simple but when you have more skaters on the ice than the other team, you should have the ability to obtain a GOOD shot... not just any old shot. Think back to all the times you've wanted players/teams to just shoot the puck only to have it blocked. Well... that's what the PK unit is trying to do. They are trying to clog the shooting lanes and keep shots from getting through to the goaltender. This is also why there tends to be so much room around the outside. Seattle failed on the 5 on 3 chance... but it wasn't because they didn't "shoot", it was because they failed to get a good shot and Shea Theodore tried multiple times to hit the weak side post forward and wasn't able to get the puck there.

Bullet holes... because who doesn't like their quasi wisdom broken into neat little nuggets.

Branden Troock was back and looked both dangerous and rusty at different times. It was good to see him back out there though and if he can stay healthy he will definitely have an impact on some games.

Effort and Execution. If I were a coach, those would be the two things I'd be preaching to my team. We have to have effort first and execution second. Last night the TBirds get a B- for effort and an F for execution. There were stretches where I felt like Everett simply outworked Seattle but for the most part the effort was there. The execution was not. Too many shots that weren't one-timed on the PP and too many times where the shots came too late and Lotz had already had a chance to square up to the shot.

Evan Wardley... can't tip shots around the net. Block it with the body or get out of the way. That first goal should have never happened.

Alex Forsberg, brother of Jesse, has requested a trade out of PG and is going to play somewhere else until he gets a trade. His brother plays here, we have extra D, we have a hole in the 17 year old forward group. This just makes WAY too much sense. Russ has probably already had a phone call with PG as I type this up.

Officiating wasn't very good last night but it wasn't why the TBirds lost. Stop whining about the officials people... this is a development league for both players and officials. You aren't getting an NHL crew out there. Stop Whining. Officiating is a tough job, sometimes it is done well and sometimes it is done poorly... just like how hockey teams play.

I don't have the heart to travel to Everett tonight after that game but I will be watching from the comfy cozy confines of the Hunnex basement. Seattle badly, badly needs a win tonight.

28 comments
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here we go again...let me be among the first to say it..."wait until next year"....2013-2014 looks very bright....NOT...talk about a franchise in shambles....what a shame...should be a model for the WHL in this city

I understand that you have to be patient and deal with weak teams. CHL teams normally have rebuilding years (with younger players), followed by a team with a good season (usually with 18 and 19 year olds). This franchise doesn't seem to get it. Besides, what do you expect from a team that has a 20 year old captain who is -21.

I'm definitely guilty of the "Shoot"scream but its not the shooting per se, its the projecting every move as they pass(very slowly sometimes) it around. They need to have it in their heads what they will do before the puck is passed to them not wait and then figure it out. After all if I can tell where they are passing to before it happens our opponent certainly can. Unfortunately I know this is in part an age/experience thing and I thought they picked up the pace of the passing Saturday.

Andrew on the ESPN blog had a "notes" comment about Barzal and even Gropp, I am crossing my fingers and hope his notes comes true. I have never heard about the source he mentions on Yahoo so I don't know how credible the Yahoo source is but hoping it is true. We need some good encouraging news right now, Coach K is really pissed by what Andrew's story had and rightfully so, I am a believer of Coach K and hope he rights the ship.

I have kept an open mind with regards to coach K since he got here. I was happy to read that he is angry and fed up with how his team competes against Portland, and he proved it by sitting guys. I got sick of reading him saying things like "our guys have to stop having that dear in the headlights look against them", without ever doing anything about it. Who is responsible for getting the team in the right state of mind to compete? When Sumner was here it was written over and over that he was, so coach K is on point now. It's obvious that too many T-Birds are scared of Portland. Proof was how well 15yo Kolesar played last night. He played well because he doesn't carry any of the baggage so many of the current players do when facing Portland. Oh, and he looks like a good player too. This is coach K's ship to right as the person above me wrote, and he has a much better crew than the last coach IMHO.

The issue is the older talent. Nice kids, most work hard but they are not top end players. The best players on this team are the younger guys and guys new to the organization (like Lipsbergs and Honey) and we keep hearing the best talent isn't even here yet (Barzal, Kolesar, Bear and hopefully Gropp). The real issue is getting enough good players here to compete. Getting 1 or 2 top end guys is fairly easy. Most teams have that. But to be a real contender you need 6-7 high end guys. When is the last time this team had that? 04-05? I never thought the issue with this club was coaching. Spokane and Tri have changed coaches recently and haven't missed a beat. Drafting well, and let's face it this team has drafted poorly for a while now, and player recruitment (Portland, wink, wink) is how you win at this level. So really I'd say it is more the GMs ship to right then Kono's. You can't cook a filet mignon dinner when you give the chef ground beef.

Wow, never saw players quit the way they did New Year's Eve down in Portland. Still too much dead weight on the roster to make any noise this season. Tyler, how good could this team be next year, especially if they can pull off a trade for Forsberg's brother? Some good returning players next year, or are we being fooled into believing better times are coming? I liked what I saw from Kolesar but he'll only be 16 next year, same with Barzal. Too much to ask? I remember Troock as a 15 yr old and thought we had something special but he's done very little for us, injuries or not, so I don't want to get too excited by a few good shifts from a 15 yr old Kolesar. Nothing special on the roster from the 2011 draft and who is in goal next year?

Anonymous @6:27,I'm in absolute agreement with you regarding the GM and recruiting. I never felt and still don't feel as though Sumner was the problem. I was just pointing out that the pitchforks came out often when he was here, and I feel that his even less talented teams competed harder against the Cheaterhawks than the current squad. Coach K can't get this team to beat Portland but he should be able to get them to compete to the best of their abilities. The situation has become embarrassing. I am happy that the current coach is starting to call players out.

In my opinion, this season is now "toast". The management needs to start rebuilding for a team two years from now (and start now). (also, from now on, pick up some quality overage players, not necessarily just keeping 19 year old players from the previous season). And find a captain who is not just "a nice guy" and find one that can lead by example. The 7-6 loss in Spokane, blowing a four goal lead in the third period did it for me!

I've ripped them for years on their drafting, however in recent years that has improved immensely. Theodore is considered a 1st round NHL draft player by many scouts, we got him in the 4th round. Trook just has to get and stay healthy, he is still fairly young, considering all the ice time he's missed. Delnov and Lipsbergs appear to be good Euro's. The team seems to be on the right track if they can get the young picks signed. Yeah they apparently stuck it up against Portland but overall they have played close to 500 hockey with a tough schedule. Frustrating yes but lets not overreact to one game and lets remember Portland is stacked.

I disagree that the season is "toast". I don't know what your expectations were, but they were never going to be a top tier team this year. I had them figured for a .500 team on the rebuild. Despite the current losing streak, they are still just 3 games under .500 and have shown when they play at their best they can beat anyone in the West with the exception of Portland, but that's true of every other team as well. When Honey and Lipsbergs get back in the lineup they'll get back on track. They still have 9 games left against PG, Van and Evt. They've already won 2 of 3 from Tri. They've earned 3 pts in 3 games against Kamloops. Plenty of time to earn a playoff spot. And the rumor is Barzal will join them once they get in the postseason.

This team is done, double digit loses in a row for the 3rd straight year. This team just does not have the heart, courage or mentality to break losing streaks. Once they start losing, they become mental midgets and accept losing. With these blowouts, where is the fight. I don't advocate fighting but I think this team needs a line brawl or two. They accept losing much too easy.

WOW!! 9th straight loss, YIKES,3 straight years tanking at this time of year. Mumuagh did not look good in the net tonight.Team looks flat.What is Seattle's plan for goaltending next year, if your a 5'10" goalie you better be quick,I don't see Mumuagh being a starting goalie and Myles is always hurt???

You do realize Mumaugh is just 16 and that was his first WHL start. Go look at the results for most 16 year old goalies in their first few games in this league. It wasn't that long ago that the T-birds scored 8 on Tri's Eric Comrie and he's 17. Mumaugh will be fine. Myles is a concern though. They may have to go get a nother 20 yr old goalie next season.